The Technology of Irreverence
After all, for most of the past two decades, conservatives have dominated another technology – AM Radio. As I gleaned from Wikipedia, Pew researchers found in 2004 that 17 percent of the public regularly listens to talk radio. This audience is mostly male, middle-aged and conservative. Among those who regularly listen to talk radio, 45 percent describe themselves as conservatives, compared with 18 percent who say they are liberal. In this talk radio world, the discussion is heated, fueled by controversy and generally reflects an “angry white male” mentality.
Attempts by liberals – most notably Air America Radio -- to challenge the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Michael Savage have been disappointing.
Now along comes YouTube and its irreverence. Videos like Mentos candy exploding in Diet Coke bottles and Saturday Night Live’s Chronicles of Narnia and Lazy Sunday have caught the public's imagination. These videos are part of an easy to use, inexpensive distribution channel that can bestow overnight celebrity status to relative unknowns. While the quality, subject matter and tone vary considerably, the most notable and most buzzworthy are often quirky, funny, and created and watched by Net savvy twenty somethings.
Talk Radio Versus YouTube
I am not making value judgments about which technology or ideology is better, only recognizing that different technologies appeal to different constituencies and serve different needs. Sites like YouTube are playing a greater role in political dialogue and the cultural landscape, and conservatives and liberals alike have to determine the best way to leverage them to reach the generation of Internet users born after it was invented.
It won’t be easy. Just as liberals have needed to figure out talk radio, conservatives need to understand the power of irreverence if they want to reach the YouTube generation. Simply put, how can you defend the status quo and make fun of it simultaneously? Or how do you protect your brand and let others repurpose with it ala Mentos and Diet Coke?
Of course, the use of humor in politics and advertising isn’t new. What is new is the changing role that humor plays in shaping opinions and forming loyalties. Younger generations expect a higher degree of irreverence and informality from those in authority. And social media only fuels this expectation by redistributing authority to multiple channels and sources. Anyone can now be an expert or pundit using informality as currency.
The lesson for politicians and CEOs -- it’s not enough to embrace new technology. Anyone can put a video on YouTube; it is equally important to understand its social context – how it is used and by whom.
As John Seely Brown and Paul Duguid wrote in their book, The Social Life of Information:
“The rapid innovation endemic to technology can be destabilizing, even for large organizations with copious resources….For all information’s independence and extent, it is the people, in their communities, organizations, and institutions, who ultimately decide what it all means and why it matters.”
We expect our leaders to “get it.” Humor enhances authority, but we don’t want them to be clowns. Irreverence can enhance authority; if abused or misunderstood, it can also undermine credibility.
Whether you are presidential candidate or a company CEO, success rests on knowing when to take things seriously and when to “just lighten up slightly.”
Let me get back to you.
Technorati Tags: Talk Radio; YouTube; Snowman; Mitt Romney; CNN; Rush Limbaugh; Sean Hannity; Michael Savage; Air America Radio; John Seely Brown; Paul Duguid; The Social Life of Information; Social Media; Half Hour News Hour;
